Taco Del Rio, Augie, Tom and I all went. It was very windy and cold but we were still able to summit.
Here are my photos. We will write a Trip Report Shortly,
http://www.flickr.com/photos/trav_and_j ... 845211840/
Mount Baldy Super Bowl Sunday Hike
Being Superbowl Sunday we decieded to climb Baldy's Bowl.
Taco Del Rio, Augie, Tom and I all went. It was very windy and cold but we were still able to summit.
Here are my photos. We will write a Trip Report Shortly,
http://www.flickr.com/photos/trav_and_j ... 845211840/
Taco Del Rio, Augie, Tom and I all went. It was very windy and cold but we were still able to summit.
Here are my photos. We will write a Trip Report Shortly,
http://www.flickr.com/photos/trav_and_j ... 845211840/
We ascended just about right up the middle of the bowl, maybe a little to the right (east). The Topo map shows the route. We descended via the regular ski hut trail around the bowl. We had an ice axe each and crampons. We saw someone climbing the bowl with just snowshoes but he looked like he was having a hard time. The snow was good and hard, no need for snowshoes other than traction aid.
Good questions, I had the same ones.
As for Avy danager, it had been 1 week since the last snow and it appeared to have consolidated well. We asked others going up as well and everyone agreed the threat was minimal. I continually probed the snow with my ice axe on the way up and it seemed to be very solid. The new snow was minimal, only a few inches, so there was little threat that this new snow would slide. But you never know for sure. Others who were going up the bowl had avy beacons and shovels, we did not.
As for Avy danager, it had been 1 week since the last snow and it appeared to have consolidated well. We asked others going up as well and everyone agreed the threat was minimal. I continually probed the snow with my ice axe on the way up and it seemed to be very solid. The new snow was minimal, only a few inches, so there was little threat that this new snow would slide. But you never know for sure. Others who were going up the bowl had avy beacons and shovels, we did not.
Niiice guys!
Travis, still up for boarding that section you ascended?
You wrote it was hardpacked; is it soft enough to carve or was it for Ice-skates?
How would you rate the coverage; did you hit lots of rocks in your steps or just snow?
Probably will get slushy in the daytime next week, lots of sun in the forecast.
Wow, what a difference a day makes. I climbed the same route on Saturday and it looked like this:
Btw, did you guys use GPS to navigate in those whiteout conditions? I've only been up there in that kind of low visibility during a "fogout" at night. It was a little unnerving searching for the peak in 5 feet visibility and knowing there were some steep slopes on the north side. I ended up using the GPS for guidance on the way down to make sure I hooked up to the Ski Hut trail and not the Bear Canyon trail.
Btw, did you guys use GPS to navigate in those whiteout conditions? I've only been up there in that kind of low visibility during a "fogout" at night. It was a little unnerving searching for the peak in 5 feet visibility and knowing there were some steep slopes on the north side. I ended up using the GPS for guidance on the way down to make sure I hooked up to the Ski Hut trail and not the Bear Canyon trail.
Here is some of my GPS data and kmz file if anyone is interested:
http://www.gpsmountaineering.com/mountbaldybowl2-3-2008
As for snow boarding down the bowl I think I would end up killing myself. I would need to practice a lot on some gentle slopes first. Sorry, but this weekend is just too soon.
The snow varied, there were sections that were like ice where only the spikes of our crampons penetrated, other areas, especially near the top, there snow was a lot softer and we were sinking in about 1 foot. I didn't see a single rock on the entire ascent, the coverage was pretty well at least 2 feet most of the way up. As for new accumulation, it was still snowing when we left, but I would say only 4" by the time we got down.
http://www.gpsmountaineering.com/mountbaldybowl2-3-2008
As for snow boarding down the bowl I think I would end up killing myself. I would need to practice a lot on some gentle slopes first. Sorry, but this weekend is just too soon.
The snow varied, there were sections that were like ice where only the spikes of our crampons penetrated, other areas, especially near the top, there snow was a lot softer and we were sinking in about 1 foot. I didn't see a single rock on the entire ascent, the coverage was pretty well at least 2 feet most of the way up. As for new accumulation, it was still snowing when we left, but I would say only 4" by the time we got down.
In addition to what Travis said, we took the ski hut trail ridge down. Because there had been snow flurries all day, the minimal danger of avalanches on the way up increased somewhat in the afternoon and that is why we chose not to descend back down the Bowl. We would have probably been o.k. going back down the Bowl, but the question always is how far you want to push things. If the question never occurs to you, then you have put yourself in danger.Travis wrote:Good questions, I had the same ones.
As for Avy danager, it had been 1 week since the last snow and it appeared to have consolidated well. We asked others going up as well and everyone agreed the threat was minimal. I continually probed the snow with my ice axe on the way up and it seemed to be very solid. The new snow was minimal, only a few inches, so there was little threat that this new snow would slide. But you never know for sure. Others who were going up the bowl had avy beacons and shovels, we did not.
Wow, what a beautiful scene. Definitely looks like an entirely different place compared to what we saw yesterday. The views must have been spectacular going up the bowl, that is one thing we never really got to feel the exposure due to the poor visibility.Mattebox wrote:Wow, what a difference a day makes. I climbed the same route on Saturday and it looked like this:
Here is the completed trip report that all 4 of us Mountaineers wrote:
http://www.summitpost.org/trip-report/3 ... ering.html
http://www.summitpost.org/trip-report/3 ... ering.html
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Cy Kaicener
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